Entering Thursday night, the Orange men’s basketball team hadn’t started 3-0 since 2006, at least.
Before they could focus on that, they had to get free from their past. Namely, their most disappointing game from last year, which happened nearly exactly eleven months ago.
Orange led Southern Lee 47-39 with 1:36 remaining, only to have the Cavaliers finish the game on a 13-0 run and scored the game-winning points on a controversial technical foul against the Panther bench.
Southern Lee finished 25-4, won the Tri-County Conference Championship, and only lost 61-58 to Walter Williams in the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs. That same Williams team played for the state championship.
Though the Cavaliers have only one returning stater from last year, the Panthers got their revenge on Thursday.
Joey McMullin, one week removed from a career-high 38 points against Research Triangle, scored 27 as the Panthers (3-0) defeated the Cavaliers 70-58.
Junior Jason Franklin added 15 points, his third consecutive game in double figures. Senior Machai Holt added 13.
Quashawn Williams led the Cavaliers (1-5) with 16 points, while Makyi Butler scored 13.
Orange is now off to its best start since the 2005-06 season, at least, and quite likely even further back. They will travel to Southern Alamance for its third game in four days on Friday.
Not that everything was peachy. McMullin hit back-to-back 3-pointers to lift the Panthers to a 27-11 lead in the second quarter, but the Cavaliers chipped away at the lead for the rest of the first half.
Orange didn’t score in the final 3:27 of the second quarter, while Southern went on an 10-0 run, punctuated by a 3-point play from backup center J’Quan Smith, who blocked a finger roll by Holt and took the ball coast-to-coast for a lay-in and foul.
“I wasn’t pleased with the last few minutes of the first half,” Orange Coach Derryl Britt said. “However, looking back, we kind of got exactly what we needed because we haven’t been tested yet. Even though we won by 12, we were only up seven at the half. We needed to play under those circumstances against a strong team.”
Williams and Makyi Butler each had three-point plays in the opening minutes of the third quarter to cut Orange’s lead to 35-31. McMullin triggered the run that decided the game with a 3-pointer, which was followed by another trey from Tucker Miller, his only points.
Jerec Thompson hit two free throws with 3:08 remaining to extend Orange’s lead to 43-33, then J.J. Thompson came up with a steal that turned into free throws from McMullin, who also notched Orange’s next field goal on a jump hook. Kendrell Brooks scored his only points on a snowbird to cap a 14-2 Orange run.
McMullin ended last season with a 27-point game at Southern Durham in the Big 8 Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
The Panthers led 17-6 at the end of the first quarter, closing the frame on a 7-0 run. That included a three-pointer from Franklin and a lay-in by Machai Holt that went through the net despite being deflected by Smith.
McMullin hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the second quarter to give Orange a 27-11 lead early in the second quarter.
ORANGE 70, SOUTHERN LEE 58
SOUTHERN LEE: Quashawn Williams 16, Se’Vion Clay 8, Ely-Jah Smith 5, Makyi Butler 13, Gee McDougald 2, RarQuan Simmons 2, Nicholas Locklear 2, J’Quan Smith 7, Randall Upchurch 4.
ORANGE: Jerec Thompson 10, Jason Franklin 15, Machai Holt 13, Joey McMullin 27, Tucker Miller 3, Kendrell Brooks 2.